


I'll Wait for You

by phillydragonldy



Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 11:36:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4135974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phillydragonldy/pseuds/phillydragonldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if while Chloe and Davis were lying on the car, discussing Greek mythology, that they knew Oliver and his team were close by? What if they wanted to get caught?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Wait for You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skye718](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skye718/gifts).



> From svsunkenships event - at svsunkenships.livejournal.com  
> Username of the requester: skye718  
> The prompt: What if while Chloe and Davis were lying on the car, discussing Greek mythology, that they knew Oliver and his team were close by? What if they wanted to get caught?

**Part One - Chloe**  
  
Davis and Chloe lay together side by side on the hood of the old car they had purchased that morning.  It was their third car in as many weeks on the run.  
  
It would be their last car and their last night.  
  
Chloe's tried not to let the heaviness of her heart overwhelm her as they lay under the bridge in Edge City, but it was difficult to focus on anything after what Davis had just told her.  His attempt to lighten the mood with spun tales about the stars wasn't really working.  
  
"That's Demeter," Davis said, pointing to a cluster of stars.  "Her daughter, Persephone, was taken by Hades to the underworld. And Demeter -- she enlisted the gods' help to find her daughter, but when Hades offered Persephone her chance at freedom, to everyone's surprise, Persephone chose to live underground with the dark prince."  
  
Chloe felt her eyes start to burn.  Davis was her own dark prince, but their chance at a happy ending wouldn't come so easily.  The escape they had thought to find on the run would come to an end tomorrow and they both knew it.  The call Davis had secretly made a few moments ago had sealed their fate.  
  
"Davis...," she started to say, but was stopped by his finger on her lips.  
  
"No, Chloe, don't say it.  It's done.  It's the only option, and we both know it."  His finger dropped from her lips and his eyes darted away.  He seemed to shrink in on himself in shame.  "I can't control  it anymore.  What happened to those people that Tess sent after us proves it.  I lost it, even with you there...and you had to see it."  His voice became very soft.  "I never wanted you to see anything like that.  Ever."  
  
Gently, she placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her.  For a moment she just held him there until his eyes met hers.  "That wasn't you, Davis.  It wasn't your fault."  Her voice threaded with steel, "None of this is your fault.  You didn't choose this."  
  
Taking her hand from his cheek, he planted a soft kiss on the palm.  "Maybe not, but I can choose what I do about it now.  I thought if we got away, went somewhere safe, it would stop, but it hasn't."  His own voice was firmer now, but he hadn't released her hand.  "The Beast knows Clark is out there somewhere, and until it fulfills its need to kill him, it will destroy everything it can."  
  
Chloe felt her free hand clench into an angry fist.  "I know, but this is just wrong!  Oliver and the others --"  
  
Davis shushed her gently, stroking her soft blonde hair back from where it had fallen across her face in her righteous anger.  "I wish it could be different, Chloe, but it can't."  
  
Chloe tried to fight the tears that pricked at her eyes.  "But that place, Davis...it's terrible.  Clark described it as a barren dessert filled with monsters and outcasts.  He called it a living hell!  It's no place for you!"  
  
"I know, Chloe, but we don't have another option without putting others in danger.  I can't keep letting Doomsday kill, and he certainly can't be allowed to destroy Clark.  You're right.  _He_ is supposed to do great things for the world."  He gave her the heart-melting half-smile.  "Remember, this is my home too and I want it to be safe."  He gently brushed her hair back from her face, and caught her watery eyes.  "This isn't like before, Chloe.  I'm not filled with the monster's rage and being dragged away.  No one is forcing me this time.  I want to go.  To protect my home.  To protect...you.  This is my choice."  
  
Chloe gave up on fighting back the tears, letting them run in hot salty tracks down her cheeks.  "No, Davis..."  
  
Leaning across her, he swiped at the tear trails with his thumbs before gently taking her lips with his, kissing her with infinite love and gentleness.  When he his lips finally parted from hers, he tilted his head so their foreheads touched as he finished wiping away the last teardrops from her cheeks.  In a voice as soft as his kiss, he said,  "Thank you for everything you've done, Chloe.  You saved us all.  You saved Clark from himself so he can protect this world.  And you saved me."  His soft voice became passionate, "God!  How you saved me!  You gave me a reason to be _me,_ and not just the monster.  I can't thank you enough for that."  His voice became slightly harsh, "And thank you for giving me this time we had together.  These weeks with you have been the happiest of my life, despite everything.  And lastly, thank you for letting me choose to be the best me I can by doing this."  
  
Steeling herself against the burning tears that still hovered behind her eyes, Chloe held Davis' warm brown eyes.  "Then I'm choosing too.  I'm going with you," she said with some heat.  
  
"No Chloe, I can't allow that," he replied gently.  
  
"Well, if you go, I go.  I won't let you to go sacrificing yourself again!  I want you to..."  
  
"To what?"  
  
Her voice became small.  "Be with me."  
  
He smiled in reply.  "Me too.  Come here."  Davis wrapped his arm around her small body and pulled her tight against him.  The metal of the the car's hood groaned in complaint at the shifting of their weight, but they ignored it.  Dipping his head, Davis' lips unerringly found hers.  The kiss told her more than words that she was his sunshine and light and everything good in the world for him.  The way he clung to her made her feel that he was trying to impress this moment into his memory.  Did he expect to need the memory of moments like this to keep him going when he went away?  
  
The thought was almost too painful to bear, so with a mental shove, she pushed it away and instead focused on his lips as they traveled across her cheek to nibble at her ear.  Gently, he took her earlobe between his teeth and tugged, sending a shock through her.  Her hands found their way under his light leather jacket to caress his firm torso through the soft blue t-shirt he wore.  She loved the feel of him.  He wasn't hugely muscled like Clark, but his body was firm and well-muscled without a spare bit of fat.  Every time she touched him, she felt almost awe-struck that such a beautiful man could love her.  
  
Davis' lips were now working their way down her neck and she felt his nimble fingers start working at the zipper of her own jacket.  He slid the zipper down with exquisite slowness, allowing the coolness of the air to filter gradually through the blouse she wore underneath.  The sensation caused her nipples to harden.  When he was done with the zipper, he pulled back to catch her eyes as he pushed her jacket open and off her shoulders.  The heat she saw in his gaze more than compensated for the slight coolness of the air.  Her own fingers felt clumsy with growing excitement as she pushed at his own jacket, freeing it from his strong shoulders.  The soft tee underneath clung to his torso in fascinating ways, but she needed to _feel_ him.  
  
Maybe he wasn't the only one that felt the need to impress this moment into memory.  
  
Her hands slid under the bottom of his tee to trail up his sides lightly.  She gently teased his smooth, warm skin, unafraid of tickling him.  When they had first done this, he had been ticklish, but his body had adapted since then, remaining sensitive, but without tickling.  Now, her touch caused his breath to catch only from excitement.  Feeling him react, she took a moment to admire the impressive bulge in his jeans as she touched him.  As her hands continued upward slowly, his tee bunched up, revealing skin so perfectly smooth and pale it could have been marble.  Except marble was never this warm.  She shifted slightly so her lips could explore the sleek expanse of his corded stomach then moved upward to follow where it merged perfectly into defined pecs.  She could feel his heart racing in his chest and she dropped a quick kiss on the spot that beat so wildly.  
  
Davis responded by gripping her hair gently and dragging her face up to his and seized her lips in a passionate kiss.  The time for slowness had passed, and between heated kisses, they dragged their shirts off the other.  Using one arm, Davis used their discarded clothes to soften the car's hood, but still a shiver of cold raced down Chloe's spine.  Feeling it, Davis quickly enfolded her under him, sheltering her with the heat of his own body.  He trailed scorching kisses over her collarbone, moving down to the valley between her bra-covered breasts.  With a deft twist of his wrist, he unsnapped the front-clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts.  Before the cool air hit them for more than a moment, he had encased one globe with a warm palm and taken the nipple of the other into his hot mouth.  She groaned as his tongue and teeth teased at her breast, shooting electric currents through her body.  A hot tension had settled in her groin, and each gentle tug on her sensitized nipple sent a quickening through her.  Her fingers grasped his head to her, running her nails through his short, but surprisingly soft hair.  He pulled back and moment later, but before she could voice a protest, his mouth settled on her other nipple, lavishing it with equal attention.  Unconsciously, her hips pressed up into him, seeking the hardness she felt barely held back by his jeans.  Again, his lips left her breast, and she cried out at the loss and the chill on her flesh.  But a moment later, all thought of cold was gone as Davis slid down her body and began working her jeans down over her hips.  When they caught at her ankles, stopped by her shoes, he quickly undid the laces and finished stripping the constricting fabric from her body.  Another shiver raced through Chloe, but this one had nothing to do with cold as she watched Davis settle between her thighs.  It was hard to image any sight more erotic than a shirtless Davis Bloome gazing up at her as he moved to kiss her most secret place.  Holding her eyes with his molten gaze, he planted a soft, teasing kiss on her center through the damp fabric of her panties.  Her hips leaped from the car's hood in reaction, but she settled back quickly as he smirked in response.  He had her exactly where he wanted her...hot and wanting.  Moving to her center again, he blew a teasing breath over her panties and she squeaked in combined need and reaction at the sweet torture.  Satisfied, he used one long finger to ease the material aside before moving to plant another kiss directly on the aching core of her.  She thrust her hips up again, but this time he was done teasing.  He wrapped his lips around the hard bud of her clit and sucked as his finger slid into her, finding the spot inside her and teasing it in time with his ministrations on her clit.  Her reaction was a sudden as it was overwhelming as she came apart.  Explosive waves of sensation flooded through her and she found herself screaming and pulling at his head as her body shuddered with her release.  The pulses of her orgasm were just beginning to subside when Davis moved up her body and seized her lips with his own.  She could taste herself in his kiss and she found her hands moving to work at his own jeans.  He moved to assist her, and together they got his jeans open, freeing his large, hard cock.  She opened her legs in invitation when she felt him probing at her entrance with the blunt head.  He slid the head up an down her cleft, slickening himself and teasing her before sliding home.  When he filled her, he let out a groan to match her own.  They fit together so perfectly.  He filled her to capacity, causing a full and complete feeling that made her feel perfectly and wonderfully feminine.  She felt as if she had been made for this man.  
  
Then he began to move.  
  
The sensation of Davis moving in her was almost too much and she had to fight to keep from orgasming again too quickly.  She wanted this sensation to last forever.  The delicious combination of smooth strokes and friction across the sensitive spot inside her left no room in her mind for anything else.  She could do nothing but _feel._ Wrapping her legs tightly around his waist, she held fast as the pressure built again and she teetered on the edge.  Davis shifted, and suddenly he grasp her wrists and pinned them to either side of her head.  The abrupt change caused her eyes to flash open.  His normally soft brown eyes had turned a molten color with lust, and she found herself unable to break away from the hypnotic gaze.  His voice was harsh and raw as he rasped "I love you, Chloe."  Then before she could respond, he sank as deep as possible, filling her to the point where she couldn't take any more.  The dam inside her broke and she cried out.  Her body shook and convulsed around his, and she felt him pulsing into her as he let out his own shout of release.  
  


* * *

  
  
Afterwards, they lay sprawled together on the car's hood, quickly covered with pieces of their discarded clothes and sated.  One advantage of parking under a bridge in a beat-up car was no one else was around.  Davis was gently stroked the exposed bare skin of her shoulder, lulling her, but Chloe wasn't quite ready to submit to slumber.  The sooner she fell asleep, the sooner it would be morning...and Oliver and his team would take Davis away.  
  
"I meant what I said, you know," she said softly into his shoulder.  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"If you go into The Zone.  I'm coming with you."  
  
His finger found her chin and tilted her head up until she met his warm brown gaze.  "No, Chloe.  I won't have you throw away your life like that.  You have your family, your friends, your job...."  
  
Her voice was steady as she replied.  "But I won't have you.  I left them behind before to go on the run with you.  I can do it again."  
  
Davis shook his head.  "It's not the same.  I always knew deep down, that if you wanted to, you could still leave.  Go back to your life.  This would be different.  I can't let you do it.  It's too big."  
  
"Davis, I want to be with you!"  
  
"Maybe now you do, but in a month?  Six months?  A year?  Will you still want to be with me then?"  
  
"Yes, Davis!"  
  
"No, Chloe, " he replied in that same soft, firm voice.  "If you try to follow me, I'll force you to go back.  I'll run and you'll never find me again.  I won't have you give everything up for me.  Not like that."  
  
"Stop being a noble idiot!  It's my life.  I'll spend it how I wish!"  
  
Davis let out a great sigh before replying.  "Alright, Chloe.  I'll make you a deal.  You have to give it a year."  
  
Chloe looked at him, confused.  "What do you mean 'give it a year'?"  
  
Davis waved his hand in an expansive gesture at the world around them.  "You have to live your life, work, spend time with your friends and family.  Enjoy your life here for one year.  If, after that time, you still want to come to the Zone to be with me, I'll be there.  I won't try to leave you or send you back.  But! -- " he raised a finger for emphasis -- "You have to wait one full year first."  
  
Chloe held his gaze for a long moment, gauging his determination.  He didn't often get stubborn, but there was a core of solid steel running through Davis Bloome.  That determination was the main thing that had kept Doomsday in check for so many years.  And she saw he meant every word of what he said.  If she tried to follow, he would find a way to send her back.  
  
A year was a very long time...but he wasn't giving her much choice.  
  
"Fine.  One year.  Then I'm coming for you," she replied.  
  
Davis' replying smile was tinged with more than a little sadness.  "Alright."  
  


* * *

  
  
The next day, Oliver, Bart, and Dinah descended upon Chloe and Davis where they waited under the bridge.  Despite Chloe's protestations that she and Davis would come willingly, they were both knocked unconscious.  
  


* * *

  
  
When Chloe came awake again, they were in the Kawatche caves near Smallville.  As she rolled over, Bart came to her side, and helped her sit up.  "Sorry about the tranq, beautiful. I, uh, kind of snuck up on you super fast."  
  
"We were going to come willingly, you know," she grumbled in response.  
  
"We couldn't take that chance, " came Oliver's voice from above.  As Chloe's gaze moved up the cave wall, she saw the green archer standing on a ledge, overlooking the room.  
  
Climbing to her feet, Chloe looked around the cave until she spotted Davis.  Seeing he was still unconscious, she rushed to his side.  "Davis!"  Then she saw his zip-tied hands.  "You restrained him?!," she yelled up at Oliver.  
  
But this time it was Dinah that replied, as she emerged from the shadows.  "Of course.  Remember the whole beast part?  Last time we checked, he couldn't control his thornier alter ego."  
  
"But I can. As long as I stay with him, he doesn't change. Please don't do this to him," she pleaded with the other woman.  
  
Then Davis' voice cut through their discussion -- "Chloe, it's alright.  They have to."  He rolled over onto his side, bound hands in front of him and Chloe rushed to help him to his feet.  "You know you aren't working anymore, that's why we're here."  
  
Oliver leaped down from his ledge to land near Chloe and Davis.  "He's right.  We're here for a reason."  He reached behind a stone outcropping that hid a large backpack.  The others moved to fetch packs of their own from the hiding place.  To Chloe's surprise, there were even packs for her and Davis.  
  
When Oliver moved to work one of the packs over the EMT's shoulders without undoing his bound hands, Davis asked in surprise, "What's this for?"  
  
"Food and supplies, mostly.  Some rope, a knife, trail rations, small tent, a fire kit, canteen, bunch of other stuff," Oliver replied, securing the hip belt on the other man.  
  
"Thank you," Davis replied sincerely.  
  
Oliver gave a grudging nod in reply.  
  
When everyone had their packs in place, Oliver reached inside his leather jacket and withdrew a small octagonal disc of dully shining metal.  Holding it aloft he asked, "Ready, Chloe?"  
  
Chloe shook her head.  "That is only part of what we need.  Is Clark meeting us at The Fortress with the crystal?"  
  
This time it was Oliver that shook his head.  "No, Clark thinks the crystal was destroyed by Tess."  
  
Chloe frowned.  "Tess?  What does she have to do with it?"  
  
Even with his sunglasses on, Chloe was sure she could see Oliver rolling his eyes.  "She told Clark she destroyed it.  But like any good Luthor, she lied."  His lips quirked in a sardonic smile.  "Why destroy something when you can hide it away instead?"  
  
"So who has it now?" Chloe asked.  
  
"I do," said Bart.  "On account of me being able to outrun anything that could come after it."  
  
Chloe nodded, seeing the reasoning.  "So...am I right in thinking Clark doesn't even know about this plan?"  
  
Oliver, Bart, and Dinah all suddenly found their feet very interesting.  After a moment, Dinah explained, "We couldn't risk him."  
  
She had little sympathy for the team, even if they were doing what Davis wished.  However, seeing the heroes' chagrin, Chloe relented slightly, "Actually, in this case, I agree with you."  
  
Taking the disc from Oliver, Chloe looked over at Davis.  He smiled gently at her.  She couldn't make herself smile back.  
  
Chloe's gaze returned to Oliver, and her voice was steely.  "Ok, let's go."  
  


* * *

  
  
Chloe led the small procession through the caves to the room that would let her use the key to access The Fortress in the Arctic.  Oliver, Dinah, and Bart kept the bound Davis surrounded on all sides as they made their back through the stone labyrinth.  
  
When they reached the right room, Chloe approached the stone with the disc in hand.  Recognizing the artifact, the stone shifted to form the octagonal slot for the key.  She inserted the key in the receptacle and the stone began to glow and morph, opening into the secret room with the table that would give direct acess to the Arctic and the Fortress nearby.  Looking at the sleeveless and short leather garments of Dinah, Bart, and Oliver, Chloe observed, "I hope you guys brought a change of clothes in those packs."  
  
They had.  
  
When everyone had suited up, Chloe turned back to the stone-like table in the center of the room, key in hand.  Ignoring the others, she asked Davis, "Are you sure you want to do this?"  
  
Davis closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  When he opened them again, there was a momentary flash of red, but it cleared quickly.  His voice sounded fully human when he replied simply, "Yes.  Let's go."  
  


* * *

  
  
Even having experienced it several times now, the shock of the Arctic cold still took Chloe's breath away.  She was suddenly very thankful to the others for the change of clothes.  Even with their gear, the entire group was shivering, except for Davis.  Neither heat nor cold had much impact on him anymore.  
  
The short trek through the snow to the crystal fortress was numbing, but they all made it through.  As they entered, Oliver checked his watch.  "We need to be quick, we won't be able to handle this kind of cold exposure much longer, even with the gear."  
  
"Let's get on with it then," Davis replied, sounding resolved.  
  
Chloe snatched his arm as the others moved deeper into the fortress.  "Davis, you don't have to do this.  It's not too late."  
  
Davis smiled softly again and his bound hands reached up to stroke her cheek.  "I do, and if the last thing I ever see of this world is you, I'll count myself lucky."  
  
"Until you see me again in one year," she replied, sounding stubborn.  
  
The sadness in Davis' smile almost broke her heart.  "Of course, Chloe."  
  
"You once told me you'd wait for me, as long as it takes.  I expect you to keep that promise," she insisted.  
  
His smile was still sad.  "And I will, Chloe.  But if it isn't meant to be, I want you to have a good life."  
  
She gripped his shirt fiercely.  "I will if it is with you!  Listen, the last time Clark came back from The Phantom Zone, he told me about a cave where Kara lived that had a panel that connected to this world.  Find that place.  I'll meet you there in one year."  
  
In response, his head tilted down and he seized her lips in a passionate kiss.  When they broke off, his voice was low and rough, "Alright, Chloe.  The cave with the panel.  In one year."  
  
Then they turned to follow the others into the main room of the fortress.  
  


* * *

  
  
To Chloe's eyes, the main room of The Fortress looked exactly as it had weeks -- had it only really been weeks? -- before.  The crystal cluster that would drive the dimensional portal sat quietly.  
  
Though not for much longer.  
  
Oliver moved to where Davis stood quietly with his still-bound hands before him.  Producing a knife, Oliver addressed the other man.  "I'm going to cut your bonds, but don't try anything."  
  
Davis shrugged.  "This is exactly where I need to be."  
  
Oliver only grunted a response and severed Davis' bonds.  
  
Rubbing his wrists, Davis' eyes seemed magnetically drawn to where Chloe stood quietly.  She hovered on the fringes of the room, as if by hanging back, she could postpone the inevitable.  
  
His voice was firm as he addressed her.  "Chloe, it has to be you.  You are the only one besides Clark that knows anything about this place."  
  
Chloe felt something like cool glass slide into her palm.  Turning, she saw Bart held the other end of the dark purple crystal.  He accepted the stone that would take Davis away from her and moved to the cluster of shining clear and white crystals.  A part of her hoped she wouldn't be able to figure out how the alien device worked, but only one slot was sized for this crystal.  Taking a deep breath, she hovered the dark stone above the slot.  
  
Her eyes never left Davis'.  "One year," she said.  
  
"One year," he agreed.  
  
Then she slid the crystal home.  
  
The portal opened.  
  
And Davis leaped through and was gone.  
  
Wrenching the crystal free to close the portal, she collapsed to the ice-and-crystal floor of the Fortress and wept.  
  
  
  
~***~

* * *

  
**Part Two - Davis**  
  
  
The Phantom Zone was exactly as it had been described -- a hellish wasteland inhabited by criminals and monsters.  
  
It took only moments after Davis entered the Zone for the "locals" to lock in on him.  Maybe it was his supplies, or his deceptively frail-looking human skin, but several of the phantoms closed in upon him.  Davis had been warned there was a possibility his powers wouldn't work in this place -- as had happened with Clark -- but he hadn't really feared that.  To him, it had been clear from the beginning he was a very different type of Krytonian creature than the other man.  
  
The phantoms that attacked him might have been terrible monsters in their own right, but he could become the worst monster of all.  
  
They didn't let them live long enough to regret their mistake.  
  


* * *

  
  
It took him a while to find the cave that Chloe had spoken of as the home base Kara had used.  On the trek, he was grateful for the supplies from Oliver.  They made the trip considerably more comfortable, even if he wouldn't face the same deadly hazards as any other being on this world.  He wouldn't die of starvation or thirst...at least not twice.  As for the scouring wind-driven sands, his skin toughened within moments.  And the baking heat had no effect at all.  
  
Despite all that, the human part of him was still thankful for the rations in his belly and the water to rinse the sand from his mouth.  
  
When he located the cave Chloe spoke of and the remains of remains of Kara's camp, he began setting it up as a permanent residence -- after Doomsday evicted the current owner.  
  
And that encounter revealed something of a surprise.  
  
Of all the things Davis had thought might happen here, the change in his relationship top his alter ego was the most unexpected.  And welcome.  
  
There was no Clark in this world, so the insane driving rage to find and kill him was now gone.  The monster had never been intelligent, so Davis wondered if Doomsday might actually think Clark was dead.  
  
Davis had no intention of disabusing the creature of the notion.  
  
Now the monster inside him operated more on a "as needed" basis.  Whenever another one of the dangerous denizens threatened, Doomsday took over, but not in the mad way it had before.  Before it would blot out all Davis' reason and sense in an insane destructive rage.  Now it simply removed the threat -- messily, yes -- but no more than that.  Once the threat was neutralized -- usually by means of becoming a splatter on the sands -- the monster would easily slip back into the shadows of Davis' mind until needed again.  Also interestingly, once Davis settled into the area of Kara's cave, it became clear that Doomsday now took this place to be its home territory.  Which it defended in the way of a top predator, though with a mercilessness not found in the natural world.  It was almost as if it had gone from being a mad thing -- going after everything in sight -- to a trained sentry.  
  
Davis started trying to see if there was a way to convince the beast to hunt the small game found in this world.  He almost thought the beast would enjoy the challenge, but the trick was to have it stop at the kill and not destroy the prey so completely it was rendered useless to his human half.  
  
It was still a work in progress.  
  
As it was, Davis let the monster free regularly to patrol a huge swath around the cave as part of its territory.  He didn't really expect Chloe would ever come, but if she did, he wanted her to be safe.  And with all the area visible from the cave regularly patrolled by the invulnerable killing machine that was Doomsday, Davis doubted there was anywhere on this world that was safer.  
  
As a bonus, when Doomsday killed or drove away the other nasty denizens of the zone, Davis was able to claim their supplies and goods.  Knives and simple tools were common, as were weapons made of tooth and bone.  But with a great stroke of luck, it was from one of these former inhabitants that Davis collected his first herd animals.  He had no idea what the shaggy horned creatures were -- his first guess was something related to a goat, but their sharpened teeth disabused him of that notion quickly enough.  However, they produced something like milk and had soft coats he thought could be used like wool.  Best of all, they seemed to sustain themselves on the lizards and insects of the desert world.  Though Davis would sometimes give them treats from the mushroom and fungus garden that he had found Kara had been tending in the back of the cave.  The small garden had gone wild since she had left, but the small cold spring along the cave wall had kept the area lush.  The water itself was fairly mineral heavy, but the cold made it delicious.  
  
And time passed.  
  


* * *

  
  
The "days" blurred one to the other in a rhythm of patrolling as Doomsday and taking out any potential threats, then reverting to Davis where he spent the rest of his time tending his herd of goat-things and fungus gardens, and working on making or repairing tools and implements.  It was a strange sort of peace and might have been perfect except for one thing.  
  
He missed Chloe.  
  
And he knew he always would.  It was impossible to tell how long it had been, with the red sun and eternally blowing sands, but each waking Davis would allow himself to hope _this_ would be the day Chloe came.  
  
Until, one day, almost impossibly... She was there.  
  
He returned to his camp at the cave to find her sitting on one of the makeshift chairs he had built, petting one of the goat-things carefully.  
  
"Chloe?" he asked in disbelief, his rarely-used voice cracking slightly.  
  
Her head snapped up and her smile was radiant.  "Hello, Davis.  One year, and I told you I'd come for you."  
  
His smile was as warm and radiant as hers.  "So you did."  
  
Then she was in his arms where she belonged and there were no words for a very long time as they found other uses for their mouths.  
  
  
\-- THE END --


End file.
